X-Files Fanfic Challenge 2: Peace Offering

Fanfic Challenge Story has to include:
1. CSM
2. A farmers market
3. Flowers
Between 500-750 words

Title: Peace Offering

It reminded him of a simpler time, when Cassandra had asked him to go to the farmer’s market with her and Jeffrey, to buy groceries.

He held his cigarette between his lips as he strolled down the aisles, forcing himself to take the time to browse each of the stands. His natural criticism made the process arduous. The jewelery was made of inferior materials, or poorly put together, or both. The artwork was intolerably amateurish. The pottery lacked both elegance and taste. There was nary a quilt in sight. The blankets were crocheted in garish colors, and a macrame owl just would not do.

He dropped his cigarette to the dirt and ground it out with his shoe. He wandered into the section of the open-air market dominated by food. The vegetables looked deliciously fresh, and his mind hearkened back to a simpler time in his life, when Cassandra used to prepare their family meals with all the love and grace of a good Southern lady.

But vegetables were not appropriate. Vegetables said “Cook for me” or “Maybe you should eat a lower-fat diet.”

He stopped for a moment to light another cigarette, and cast an analytical eye on the fruits. Fruits were more dessert-like, and the right basket of fruit could be quite appreciated. But it just didn’t seem right.

He kept walking, avoiding the kids that ran past laughing. They reminded him of Sam and Fox. He paused for a long draw on his cigarette. A scent more fragrant than the fruit tickled his nose. He took another draw on his cigarette and dropped it to the group, grinding it out with his shoe.

Man could not make a gift good enough for the occasion, so nature was going to have to do the job. He walked past roses, irises, carnations, lilies, and more roses. Why did nothing seem right? His lungs rebelled against the freshness of the air in this area, and he yearned for another cigarette. No smoking signs were everywhere in this area, and he knew why - the toxic smoke ruined flowers faster than his job had ruined his life.

The wildflowers seemed more appropriate. He walked slowly down the aisles, stopping occasionally to get a closer look at something wispy and delicate spray, or a big and bold flower that held a stalk all to itself.

He wondered why there was never a tiny, delicate flower all alone on a stalk. Must be a means of survival, he decided. A larger flower could attract pollinators, but if the flower was small, it would need quantity to attract. How unlike humans flowers were. How refreshingly honest in their need to reproduce.

He stopped in front of a booth selling bouquets in vases. Beautiful vases, in jewel tones of every color. Each vase was perfectly picked to complement the bouquet within. His eyes scanned the shelves and counter. He found his wallet, and he stepped forward, “How much would you charge for the red and white bouquet?”

In the car, he realized how close he was cutting this. He pulled out of the parking lot in a hurry and sped down the road. At least the flowers would appreciate the air conditioning as much as he did, even if he couldn’t smoke in their presence. Like most of his favorite people.

He knew Teena would love the flowers. He knew she would take the flowers. The only question was if she would take his bribe and allow him to stay long enough to talk. Teena hadn’t spoken to him since the disappearance, other than insults and demands that he leave. Maybe this peace offering would allow him entrance to her home while Fox was away at school.

Two divorcees could find a lot of common ground, and a lot of comfort in one another company. But he had an haunting suspicion Teena wouldn’t see it that way, no wonder how many bouquets he brought her.

Step 1. Serve
Step 2. Resist from Within